Evansville men's basketball picked to once again finish last in MVC preseason poll

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — No prizes for guessing who's first or last in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball preseason poll.

The University of Evansville was picked to finish 12th in the new-look league, 41 points behind Illinois-Chicago in 11th. The prediction shouldn’t come as a shock after the Purple Aces finished at the bottom of the conference in three of the past five seasons.

"People write what they write and think what they think, we'll let our play do the talking," first-year coach David Ragland said recently. "When the time comes, we'll settle that. All we can do is control what we can control — our effort, our energy, our communication, our attitude. Then, from there, it'll take care of itself."

UE basketball mailbag:Preseason MVC ballots, starting five prediction and Wenbanyama

UE lost five of its top six scorers from its dismal 6-24 campaign, with Blaise Beauchamp being the only returner from that group. Four of the Aces’ starting five from a year ago are gone, with UE bringing four transfers and five freshmen to town for the coming season. Inexperience, and uncertainty about whether the transfers will click surely played into the Aces’ preseason ranking.

Drake was picked almost unanimously to win the league for the second consecutive season, earning all but two first-place votes. The Bulldogs ultimately finished third last year as they were derailed by injuries and inconsistency. Returning playmakers Roman Penn and Tucker DeVries will be expected to be two of the top players in the conference for Darian DeVries’ experienced team.

Here’s how pollsters voted, with first-place votes in parenthesis:

1. Drake (52) 646

2. Bradley (1) 542

3. Southern Illinois (1) 537

4. Missouri State 418

5. Northern Iowa 416

6. Belmont 388

7. Indiana State 344

8. Murray State 324

9. Valparaiso 234

10. Illinois State 186

11. UIC 109

12. Evansville 68

(For transparency, here’s how I voted: Drake, Bradley, Southern Illinois, Belmont, Northern Iowa, Murray State, Missouri State, Indiana State, Illinois State, Evansville, UIC)

The MVC was last a two-bid league two seasons ago when Drake won its first game and Loyola made the Sweet 16. The Ramblers have since departed for the Atlantic 10, with Belmont, Murray State and UIC coming in to replace them. KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin has the Valley as the 12th-best conference in the country, sandwiched between Conference USA and the Western Athletic Conference, both of which were one-bid leagues last season.

UE also is the lowest-ranked MVC team in those metrics, sitting at No. 337 out of 363 programs.

Tucker DeVries was picked as the preseason MVC player of the year. The Drake standout was the conference freshman of the year last season, averaging 13.9 points and 4.6 rebounds. Southern Illinois’ Marcus Domask, Valparaiso’s Ben Krikke, Bradley’s Rienk Mast, Drake’s Roman Penn and Belmont’s Ben Sheppard joined DeVries on the first team.

Northern Iowa’s Bowen Born, Missouri State’s Donovan Clay, Southern Illinois’ Lance Jones, Indiana State's Cooper Neese and Drake’s Garrett Sturtz were named to the second team. Indiana State’s Cameron Henry, Valparaiso’s Kobe King, Murray State’s Rob Perry, Northern Iowa’s Austin Phyfe and Drake’s D.J. Wilkins were named to the third team.

No UE players received preseason all-conference recognition. Last season, Shamar Givance, who is now at UTEP, was the Aces’ only representative, landing on the third team. Blake Sisley was named to the all-freshman team but has since transferred to Wright State.

UE scrimmaged during Meeks Madness on Saturday. Before the season starts on Nov. 7 at Miami (OH), the Aces will host NAIA programs Oakland City and Huntington University on Oct. 29 and Nov. 2, respectively, at Ford Center.

MVC women’s poll has UE slated ninth

On the women’s side, the Purple Aces were tabbed to finish ninth in coach Robyn Scherr-Wells’ second season at the helm. UE finished ninth last season in the 10-team conference, having its best season in five years. The Aces host Roosevelt University in an exhibition on Oct. 29 before opening their season at Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 7.

Senior guard Abby Feit was named to the preseason all-conference team after averaging 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds last season.

“I’m not surprised Abby was named preseason All-MVC,” Scherr-Wells said. “She is one of the top scorers and rebounders returning from last season and I know how much the coaches in our conference respect her as a player. Abby is extremely competitive and a consistently hard worker.”

Conference newcomer Belmont was picked to win the league, while Murray State was slated at fourth with UIC in last. Here’s the full list:

1. Belmont (32) 508

2. Illinois State (7) 444

3. Drake (6) 438

4. Murray State (2) 397

5. Northern Iowa 393

6. Missouri State (1) 388

7. Southern Illinois 270

8. Indiana State 257

9. Evansville 207

10. Valparaiso 197

11. Bradley 133

12. UIC 112

(For transparency, my picks were Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Belmont, Drake, Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Murray State, Valparaiso, Evansville, Indiana State, Bradley, UIC)

All-Conference team: Grace Berg, Drake; Abby Feit, Evansville; Megan Meyer, Drake; Destinee Wells, Belmont; Deanna Wilson, Illinois State; Katelyn Young, Murray State

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville men's basketball picked last in MVC preseason poll